Four years ago today I became a mom to my fourth and final child. She is such a joy and quite the talker. In fact, I am not sure she has gone more then a few minutes without chatting about something. She is much loved by all her siblings even on the days she makes that a challenging feat. I almost could not believe I had the privilege or raising one more child. I remembering thinking that three kids was enough and know my husband felt the same. But, we were wrong, three was not enough for our family and we made it an even four.
These past four years have been such a blessing. She was never an especially challenging child unless she was awake. During those times we just remembered to flex those parenting muscles we have built up over here years. I enjoyed having a fourth child until about a year ago. The age of three can give those parenting muscles quite a workout. I knew on her third birthday that one day she would turn four. My favorite age! The age when all that hard work pays off. Four year olds retain all the cuteness the world has to offer but begin to naturally follow in line with house rules. They are certainly not perfect but just old enough to reason with and expect a sense of obedience but still young enough to feel like they are our baby. I have always found our year olds easy to take out to stores and social events without the worry of sippy cups, blankies, and tantrums. My little one still loves her blankie and sadly her thumb but she goes to bed without a peep and will happily go anywhere and go with the flow. It does help to have older siblings to model after.
So, today is my first day with my last four year old. Beginning to think four kids is not enough.